Exotic Bird Hospital

Since Fridays should be about fun, we wanted to share a fun foraging video with our African Grey parrot boarder Dali. Dali is an expert forager. He has been foraging for many years and is capable of mastering even the most complex foraging toys. We wanted to show Dali eating because he is fed by foraging. Even a foraging fanatic like Dali will go to the easy foraging opportunities first. He starts with the simple toys then moves on to the more complicated puzzles and at the end, a treasure chest. Watch to find out whether he finds the treasure! Some foraging tips are: Start slow with simple foraging opportunities and show your bird the food and treats you are hiding before placing it in the cage. Use high value treats to entice your bird to forage. Do not make foraging the only food offering until you are confident your bird knows how to forage. When implementing foraging, make sure you are weighing your bird daily to ensure he or she is getting enough to eat. Isn’t Dali cute! He is such a good little forager. Do your pets know how to forage? Feel free to share how your pet forages.

Are you as happy and excited about today being Friday as our little boarder Loki is? Our tech Faith loves Loki and got her dancing. Loki’s dance moves were so cute, Faith shared this video. Many of our bird boarders like to dance to fun sounds and music. Did you know that birds have favorite songs? Studies examining how birds react to music show that like humans, birds will repeatedly select a favorite song when given the option. Another interesting detail is that birds have different musical preferences, so try to play a variety of music to see what your bird likes the best. The birds in the study all had different opinions, with one exception: none of the birds liked techno/electronica music, so that might be one type of music to avoid as the birds in the study appeared uncomfortable and yelled whenever that type of music was playing. Isn’t Loki adorable?😍🦜Does your pet have favorite songs?

“Wanna come out?” Our cockatoo boarder Georgie clearly says that phrase, and it appears to be perfectly timed and accentuated with an adorable and inviting head tilt.😍 We have many bird patients and boarders who say words and phrases to coincide with what is happening or to communicate what they want. The most common appropriately timed words are hello or hi when we walk into the room and/or bye when one of us is leaving. Some birds like Georgie express more elaborate communication in longer phrases, and we have many other parrot boarders who also express that they “wanna come out!” Other words and phrases we commonly hear are requests for treats like grapes, apples, crackers, etc., and every now and then we get a bird who sings opera. When we test birds that ask for treats, it is clear they know what they are requesting and are not pleased when we bring them something else as a test. For instance, a bird requesting a grape will angrily toss a sugar snap pea or apple that is offered but will happily accept the requested grape.🤣 While speech is a sought after trait for a parrot, not all birds talk, and some of the sweetest and friendliest parrots don’t talk but have very charming, amiable personalities. Since birds that do develop the ability to talk also have the ability to understand and communicate, it’s a good idea to speak to them simply and clearly, using appropriate language in a bright, happy voice. Birds respond best to positive, fun energy. You can also reward your bird with exciting praise or a treat whenever a word or phrase is used to encourage speech. Whether or not your bird talks, birds enjoy being talked to sweetly, so at least you don’t have to worry about your bird thinking you talk to much.🦜🗣️😊

Lumps and bumps are best examined by a veterinarian. Our rabbit patient Biscuit had a lump under his chin. Unbeknownst to his owner, that lump was harboring an invader called a cuterebra or bot fly.🪰😮 Bot flies use rabbits as a host for their larvae, which penetrate the skin and grow. After burrowing, the larva develop a breathing hole on the skin’s surface and proceed to feed on the host. Treatment is removal, but this needs to be done by an experienced veterinarian. The extraction is a delicate and dangerous job as you can see in the video. The larvae must not be ruptured during the removal because rupturing releases toxins into the rabbit’s blood stream.‼️ Botfly larvae enter the rabbit through the skin, any hole or opening. Once inside, botfly larvae migrate further in the body. Larvae settle subcutaneously with a respiratory hole at the surface of the skin. Even indoor rabbits can pick up one of these nasty parasites. This bunny lives indoors but gets supervised playtime outside. He could have picked up this larvae while outdoors or a fly may have gotten into the house.🏠 Luckily, Biscuit’s owner noticed the swollen area under his chin and made an appointment to get that lump examined and to get his RHDV vaccine and a microchip. During the appointment, Dr. Smith knew the swelling with the breathing hole meant a cuterebra was burrowed under the skin and needed to be removed. She was able to safely extract it and give the vaccine and microchip right after extracting it. We know Biscuit was feeling better to get rid of that hitchhiker, and he is also now vaccinated and microchipped! If your pet ever has a lump or bump, it is best to get it examined quickly, just in case it is something like this that needs to be removed.🐰

Our skinny pig boarder felt like coming out but then decided to go back inside, which might be how some of you are feeling on this cold day.❄️🥶 We just wanted you to know we are open for our normal hours, despite the weather. Please be careful if you have to travel, and make sure you keep your pets safe and secure from the cold.❤️ Speaking of our boarder, skinny pigs are an almost hairless type of guinea pig with mostly smooth skin and a little bit of wrinkles on the neck and legs. The term skinny used to describe them may refer to the fact that their skin is exposed or that visually they appear thinner due to their lack of hair. Hairless skinny guinea pigs are not that different from regular guinea pigs other than being basically hairless, but they do need to eat more to maintain body heat since they don’t have hair. We think skinny guinea pigs are onto something with the eating more to maintain body heat idea. We will be snacking today whenever we get a chance, lol. Are you enjoying the cold weather or does it have you running back inside like our little guinea pig boarder?

Fun Friday consists of some Amazon parrots having fun. Although these are all different birds, they have one thing in common - they are all in carriers or a cage small enough to be portable! This means these cuties are traveling safely. We wanted to share this video to show there are many different types of carriers: backpacks, acrylic carriers, wire carriers, and smaller cages like the ones we use for patients and borders that can fit in a vehicle and be easily carried and transported. We strongly recommend birds travel in carriers, even if they have clipped wings and especially if they are flighted. Flighted birds, even those with recall training, do occasionally fly off and get lost, and birds that have never had an inclination to fly off can become startled by a noise and unexpectedly take flight. It is best to only take birds outdoors in a carrier or harness. The area surrounding our hospital is extremely busy. There is a lot of traffic and activity. We don’t want anyone to lose their beloved bird, so please bring your feathered family members to and from in carriers. We also have bird patients that are brought in dog and cat carriers, which is fine too! We just don’t have a video of one, lol. Any carrier will work as long as it is safe, secure, and everything is latched. Check carrier doors and handles and latches before carrying your bird outdoors. If the carrier is wire, make sure the bar spacing is appropriate for your bird. Before leaving home, make sure your bird hasn’t chewed up the carrier to make an escape possible. Not all carriers work for all birds. For instance, the backpack carrier Kermit is in works fine for her, but an umbrella cockatoo did a bit of damage to it in a short amount of time. The cockatoo is now transported in an acrylic carrier.😂🙈😧🦜 The bird in the wire carrier in the video is in a safe enclosed area with walls and a roof in the video. The carrier is used to transport him to the area for showers. His ca

Happy Tuesday! Is everyone enjoying the new year so far? Our boarders started 2025 off right by dancing to get exercise. Thanks to our medical inventory manager Monica, fitness in small boarding is fun because exercise consists of dance moves. New Year’s Resolutions related to fitness are easier to keep if they consist of fun and social activities.🤗 Chacho the blue front Amazon even does a cute little turn! Do your pets like to dance? What fun activities help keep your pet fit?

Happy Saturday! Does the weekend have you spinning in happy circles? Our Amazon boarder Samantha enjoyed our tech Faith’s whistling. She enjoyed it so much that she danced in circles along with her anytime she whistled. Isn’t Samantha cute? Does your pet dance or spin in circles when excited? We have seen many pets spin in circles when excited for a treat. What does your pet do when happy and excited?

Hey everyone, we wanted to let you know we still have some seats available in our parrot class this Sunday, and our sweet African grey boarder Miss Ollie would love to see you there! As you can see, Ollie will dance, especially if you dance first like our tech Tylauna did. And Ollie is one of the Phoenix Landing Foundation birds that will be here hoping to meet someone special. Could that be you?😉 (Jacksonville, FL) Come on down to our free parrot care class this SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm here in our lobby! THE GOOD LIFE- this class looks at the essential ingredients for providing a good life to parrots in our homes. Learn about nutrition, behavior, enrichment, health, and anatomy. This class also offers tips on parrot care to make life easier for you and your bird. There will be time at the end of class to get advice and ask specific questions. This class satisfies the adoption requirement to adopt from the Phoenix Landing Foundation. For more info about Pheonix Landing Foundation and adoptable birds and adoption requirements, visit their website at https://www.phoenixlanding.org/ Let us know if you plan to attend by either sending us a message on here or giving us a call at 904-256-0043. We hope to see you here!😊🦜

Because Wednesdays are a halfway point through the week, it might be nice to share a positive affirmation or compliment with someone to brighten their day today whether that someone is a person or an adorable pet.☺️ Look how happy our cockatoo boarder LuLu was when our tech Sara told her she was a good girl and that she is so cute. LuLu was laughing and nodding in agreement.🥰💕 What compliments do you give your pet? Does your pet have a favorite compliment? How does your pet respond? Does your pet dole out compliments in return? What compliment do you think your pet would give you?😊

Are you as excited about Thanksgiving as our boarders are?😁 As info, the Exotic Bird Hospital will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving, but we will have a doctor and small staff here caring for our patients and boarders. If you need anything from us, call us today before we close.😊🦃 Thanksgiving is a fun but typically hectic day in many households. It is best to be cautious with pets and keep them safe, secure, and comfortable and away from the kitchen or other areas of activity in your home. We want everyone to have a safe and happy Thanksgiving so we do want to share some additional advice for pet owners to keep pets healthy and safe. ⚠️With people coming in and out of doors, pets can slip away and be lost. It’s best to keep pets somewhere quiet and secure if you are too busy to supervise them. ⚠️Most Thanksgiving foods aren’t healthy for pets, mainly due to how they are prepared, and many pets are opportunistic scavengers and beggars. So it might be best to keep your pet separate from areas of food prep or meals. ⚠️Make sure your kitchen is well-ventilated, and keep in mind our bird and reptile friends are extremely sensitive to airborne toxins like smoke and fumes from cleaning chemicals, air fresheners, teflon and other non stick cookware, cooking bags, and nonstick aluminum foil, etc. ❗️Please don’t cook with the aforementioned items that could be toxic and dangerous if you have a bird or reptile, and do not use the self-cleaning function of the oven. ⚠️The kitchen in homes hosting Thanksgiving is not a good place for pets due to the mentioned reasons, but we also want to add that unsupervised flighted birds can fly into pots or land on hot burners or fly out of open doors. Birds can also counter scavenge and get into foods they shouldn’t have. ⚠️Along with airborne toxins, many reptiles are sensitive to extreme temperatures, so it is best to keep them away from the kitchen where all the cooking might affect t

They say, “Birds of a feather flock together,” and in the spirit of that phrase, we thought we would share a video our tech Jazmine took of our adorable boarders with their lookalike friends. Our dove boarder Marco🕊️ (the white bird) is so sweet cooing at his little friend whereas our little pigeon boarder Ulee accidentally knocks his friend over and seems very disappointed when he stays down.😂 Ulee must be trying to teach his friend with a tough love approach that when you get knocked down, you gotta get up again, lol. Although they have a slightly different attitude with their friends, pigeons and doves like Ulee and Marco have quite a bit in common. Both are in the same family of birds called Columbidae. They both have a similar body shape and thin beak. Both are very smart! Doves and pigeons have the same kind of diet (but the city-dwelling pigeons eat a far greater variety of food, including human food, than the rural, prairie, and suburban-dwelling seed and grain-eating doves). Doves and pigeons also have similar courtship rituals of bowing, cooing, and wing twitching. Both can form monogamous relationships, but we suspect Ulee is likely very picky and might have high standards before he commits, lol. Pigeons have become quite infamous on social media for building flimsy and unimpressive nests, and doves are likewise guilty of shoddy construction when it comes to nest building.😆 Despite their similarities, pigeons often aren’t as highly regarded as doves and can be seen as pests, especially in large cities. However, pigeons and doves are both very intelligent, gentle, friendly, and often affectionate birds. Since both are social, they need friendship in the form of either plenty of human attention and interaction or a bird friend. Aren't they both cute? Have you ever spent time with pigeons or doves?